Noel "Napoleon" Bernal's Quest for Brownsville Domination



By Diego Garcia III | Editor of The Brownsville Beacon


Brownsville's city government is called a "weak-mayor," council-manager government. That isn't an insult to Mayor Trey Mendez. I am not calling him weak. The "weak-mayor" form of government means the mayor and city commissioners hire a city manager to run the day to day operations of the city. The city manager is usually referred to as the city's Chief Executive Officer or the Chief Administrative Officer. 

Each city is different, and each city has its own charter, but according to some quick online research, some of the city manager's duties and responsibilities include supervising the daily operations of the city and its various departments, acting as the executive of human resources, overseeing and crafting the budget, advising the city commissioners on the city's operations, acting as the head of public relations, and attending all the city commission meetings and briefing the commissioners and mayor on the city.

A carpetbagger is someone who came from the northern states, commonly referred to as a "Yankee," to the South after the Civil War to profit from Reconstruction efforts. Today, the term usually refers to a politician or a government official who runs for office or takes a government position in a place they're not native to.

Brownsville's city manager is a carpetbagger named Noel Bernal. The Assistant City Manager is fellow carpetbagger Helen Ramirez. Ramirez also sits on the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation's throne as executive director following the removal of the GBIC's board of directors and after Mario Losoya, the former executive director, stepped down.

Bernal has been city manager since 2018 and has quietly been maneuvering his chess pieces, waiting for the right time to attack.

Bernal's attack has commenced.

The Brownsville Blogosphere has reported Noel Bernal fired Brownsville Municipal Judge Bobby Lerma. Juan Montoya, publisher of El Rrun Rrun, reported Lerma was fired this past week. Montoya also reports Bernal's plan is to have current Rene De Coss, the current city attorney, as municipal judge, paving the way for the assistant city attorney, Victor Flores, to take over as city attorney.

Bernal seems to be setting things up to be able to pull the strings at the GBIC, city hall, the city attorney's office, the municipal court, and at the rest of City Plaza.

What is the city manager's endgame? Will the city commission allow these moves to be made without their knowledge or consent? Did Bernal wait until two new city commissioners took office so he could more easily make his moves? Will any of the city commissioners remind the city manager he does not get to appoint the new city attorney?

The city manager should remember his employment status rests in the hands of the city commission. Will the city commission allow the city manager to make changes without being held to account for his actions?

J. Edgar Hoover, was the director of the U.S. Bureau of Investigation and was the first director of the FBI when it was established in 1935. He would serve as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation until his death in 1972. It has been said Hoover was able to stay in power until his death, and was never replaced as director, because he kept detailed files with all kinds of incriminating information on influential members of Congress and the presidents themselves.

Does Bernal have similar Hoover-esque files on key members of the city government, allowing him to make any changes to the city government he desires?

One thing is for certain, in order to find out the answers to any of the above questions, you'll have to stay tuned to the Brownsville Blogosphere. It is apparent the Herald has neither the sources, the staff, or the desire to follow up on the activities of the city manager.

 


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